The Agricultural Experiment Station began at the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm (now Iowa State University) as a result of the Hatch Act of 1887 and an act passed by the Iowa General Assembly in 1888. The purpose of the station is to conduct research relating to agriculture and associated disciplines and to disseminate that information. The name of the station was changed in in 1957 to Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station and again in 1966 to Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station.